Bullies are about to get a taste of their own medicine in this slow burn thriller that once it hits the halfway point ramps up hard.

After moving from California due to complications in their lives, teenager Abigail and her mother have moved to Alabama. There, Abigail meets and attempts to befriend Lucas, a fellow teen who is having major problems at home. As Abigail attempts to bond with Lucas, he constantly rebuffs her. That is, until Daniel, a bully, begins to once again do what he does best, taunt Lucas. However, when the headstrong Abigail stands up for Lucas, he sees someone who does actually care.

Abigail’s life at home is just as bad as her mom Eve constantly thinks she may go back to her old ways, which is part of the reason why they moved. As Abigail gets closer to Lucas, he soon is in for a shocking truth about his new friend. When Daniel starts to beat up Lucas, Abigail has had enough and decides to teach the bully a lesson in humility by first embarrassing him then ultimately killing him. Lucas helps hide the body but soon realizes his friend is very dangerous. Will he try to stop her or is something else more in store for him?

It’s always feels somewhat relieved when a bully gets theirs. However, how far is one willing to go? That answer lies in Melissa Vitello’s thriller, which starts out as a slow burn thriller until it goes halfway through, then it hits hard in the gut. 

Ava Cantrell is excellent in the titular role as she starts out as a teen in a new town in the Alabama. She comes off as someone who clearly is trying to start over, but her overbearing mother Eve, played by a scene stealing Hermoine Lynch, always tends to question her and becomes worrisome like Margaret White from Carrie minus the religious pretext. It gets to where Eve’s attempt to ground Abigail for spending time with new friend Lucas is pretty much frivolous.

As for Tren Brown, he is excellent as polar opposite Lucas. At first, it seems like the only thing he has in common with Abigail is that he also has a mother who is overbearing and way too harsh. In his case, it’s Donna, played by a great Karimah Westbrook. While she tells Eve that Lucas’s father left them for another woman, things start to look like there could be a different story. 

However, the first half is a bit of a slow burn as we get to know both Abigail and Lucas. In the case of Abigail, it follows a “three strike” process when it comes to the bully tormenting Lucas. It starts with a glance from our titular character. Strike two comes when Lucas is this time pushed around and Abigail resorts to knocking the bully down. Finally, the final straw comes after the bully begins to pummel Daniel in the school bathroom and leads to Abigail doing what she needs to do. As the film goes on at this point, some major twists come in and leads to a literal jaw-dropping finale. 

Abigail is a pretty good film that meshes psychological horror with the revenge film. Two great leads in the form of Ava Cantrell and Tren Brown as the heart mixed with twists and turns in the second half make this one to check out. 

WFG RATING: A-

Dark Star Pictures presents a Mooncastle Films/Ranch Hand Films/Dark Gravity Studios production. Director: Melissa Vitello. Producers: Stacy Snyder and Melissa Vitello. Writer: Gunnar Garrett. Cinematography: Bryan Ricke. Editing: Michael S. Ojeda.

Cast: Ava Cantrell, Tren Brown, Hermoine Lynch, Karimah Westbrook, Gene Farber, Yanni Walker, Trace Talbot, Meredith Vivian.

The film hits On Demand and Digital on December 5.